Turquoise
by Thr3eGuess3s
Summary: On Homeworld, long before the rebellion lead by Rose Quartz has even been considered, a new gem is made; a turquoise. During a rehearsal, a lapis lazuli fuses with a pearl to produce a fusion which becomes the blueprint for all of its kind. Rated T for minor mention of alcohol-like substances because I wanted to be on the safe side. Very headcanon based, you have been warned.
Author's Note: Hi guys, Three here. This is my first published work of fanfiction so bear with me please, I'm still learning how to write things properly. If you find any spelling or grammar mistakes, please tell me and I'll try to get them fixed but I'm 99% certain I managed to catch them all. Any and all feedback is welcome and would actually be incredibly useful so I can continue to improve my work so thank you if you leave a review or anything, it means a lot.

I came up with the idea for this fic a while ago but I didn't get around to writing it until recently. In all honestly, it's basically a headcanon with a story tied loosely around it but I hope you enjoy it nevertheless.

Anyway, with that said, on with the show!

Turquoise

It was instantaneous, unpredicted; the fusion of two different gems was all but unheard of. The orchestra came to a crashing halt as, one by one, the musicians noticed the new gem among them and ceased the playing of their instruments. Lapis lazuli stood frozen mid-step, one or two losing their balance and falling over in shock as they watched one of their fellow lapis fuse with the pearl they had been practising with.

Onyx stood at the conductor's podium, arms still raised but a look of awe on her face as she took in the beautiful sight. Of course, she'd seen fusion before; who hadn't? Lapis were very passionate dancers and accidental fusion was par for the course but this... this was something new.

The fusion stood in the middle of the dance floor. It looked terrified. The poor thing looked ever so awkward with it's four arms and mismatched clothing. It's two gemstones sparkled in the light, neither pearl nor lapis but something that was a little bit of both.

Slowly, almost timidly, Zuli, one of the braver lapis, approached the fusion.

"Sky?" she asked, cautiously. "Uh, are you in there?"

"I... believe so," came the hesitant reply. "But I'm not... that is to say..." The fusion struggled for a moment. "I'm... I'm Turquoise."

And a new gemstone was born.

...

Onyx wasted no time in sending a lapis out to fetch a higher ranking gem. Thankfully, the little dancer brought back an older rose quartz who took one look at the fusion and informed Onyx that she had seen such a thing before and that, whist unusual, frowned upon and highly illegal, it would not damage the lapis involved. Upon further questioning, it came out that the pearl wouldn't be harmed either so it could be returned to it's owner without disclosing what had transpired.

Turquoise, for her part, was chatting amicably with the lapis who were delighted to find that their friend was still able to talk to them and wanted to know everything. The group danced around the hall for a time, the lapis graceful as always and Turquoise clumsily at first but gaining more control and elegance with every leap, twirl and pirouette.

By the time the rose quartz had explained to Onyx what she knew about cross-gem fusion, Turquoise had mastered her new form and was dancing beautifully in time with the orchestra that had taken up their instruments again at the command of Zuli. Onyx and the rose quartz observed the scene for a moment in silence before the darker gem spoke.

"You know," she said conversationally, "if she didn't have four arms, I'd quite like for her to dance in the performance."

The rose quartz hmmed in agreement then talked the fusion through the act of unfusing for Sky, a fairly young lapis nicknamed only for her colour at this point, had never fused before and hadn't the foggiest idea what to do. It went without saying that the pearl had no experience in the field; what cause would it ever have had to fuse, accidental or not?

Before long, Turquoise was gone and, in her place, stood a giddily grinning Sky and the pearl who wobbled for a moment but managed to remain upright, face emotionless as always.

"That was amazing!" Sky shouted, spinning in place before falling backwards, laughing.

"Yes, it was _something_ wasn't it?" agreed Onyx, pulling the lapis to her feet. "Well, I can see there's no way on Homeworld that you're all going to be able to concentrate to practice any more today. Off you go."

The lapis scampered off to do whatever it is lapis do in their spare time.

"Just remember to come back next rotation!" called Onyx after them.

A round of giggling carried the request with it out of the doorway and, soon, it was just Onyx and the rose quartz left in the room, the orchestra having been dismissed as well.

"That was quite remarkable," stated the rose quartz.

"I thought you'd seen this sort of thing before?" enquired the darker gem.

"Oh, I have," came the reply. "But that doesn't make it any less amazing."

Onyx nodded in agreement and there was silence for a moment between the two gems.

"I would very much like to see that fusion again."

Onyx looked around at the rose quartz in surprise. "Whatever for?" she asked. "Yes, she was beautiful but four arms? What use could that be? I suppose it might come in useful on the battle field but it was part lapis and part pearl; lapis aren't fighters and pearls are just pearls. If you were to put that gem in any sort of fight, it would be shattered faster than blinking."

"You said that you would have had the fusion dance with your lapis if she had less arms," recalled the rose quartz, turning her gaze on the smaller gem.

"I did," confirmed Onyx. "And I would. Her colour; it's unlike anything I've ever seen before. And she looked so beautiful next to the lapis, how could I _not_ wish for her to dance?"

"I agree with you." The rose quartz turned to face the hall again. "She would also need to be downsized; a lapis dancing with something that large would look ridiculous."

"Of course," agreed Onyx. "But would that be possible? You've seen this before, can they change the way Turquoise looks?"

"No," admitted the quartz. "No, they cannot. However," she smiled, "there may be a way to fix that"

Onyx was wary now. Yes, the rose quartz was smiling genuinely in excitement but the darker gem was still hesitant.

"Now, if you're thinking of rubbing down my lapis, I won't allow it," she said sternly. "And the pearl isn't mine so I can't allow you to do anything to that either."

The rose quartz laughed and shook her head. "Onyx, I wouldn't _dream_ of miniaturising one of you dancers. No, I was thinking that, perhaps, you'd let me bring a small team of peridot along to the next rehearsal. Should the fusion occur again, they would study it, decipher it's chemical makeup and, after some discussion with the Diamonds, begin work on creating a new type of gemstone."

Onyx's eyes went wide. "You'd take this to the _Diamonds_?"

"Of course." The rose quartz was smiling again. "They'd love it; we haven't made any new gems in an age."

"But to make a new gem just to dance-?"

"Leave it to me," the rose quartz instructed.

Onyx could only agree.

...

The next rehearsal saw the lapis practising for an audience of the rose quartz from the day before who was thoroughly enjoying the performance and five peridots, all of whom were pretending to be disinterested in the hypnotic dancing in front of them. They weren't doing a very good job of it; peridots, being the low class gems that they were, would never have seen a lapis perform live unless a troupe had been generous enough to put on a free show for the workers. They seldom were.

Things started to get interesting when Sky, who had the role of lead dancer in this particular piece, twirled her way up to the pearl who was standing quietly in the front row of the pearl area. The peridot watched as the lapis gently grasped the pearl's hands and spun her out onto the floor, never letting go for a moment.

Sky was clearly enjoying herself, a large smile adorning her beautiful face. The pearl looked to be feeling nothing as it was twirled and dipped in time to the music, just as it should. What went unnoticed by all except Sky, however, was the minuscule, but still present, smile that graced the pearl's features only a moment before they were both enveloped in a blinding white light.

When the light faded, Turquoise was back and the peridots surged forwards to get a good look at her, scanners, probes and all manner of other gadgets held tightly in their hands. Onyx ordered the lapis not to bother the technicians but they didn't listen, flocking instead to to the green gems and chattering at them at the speed of light. Turquoise wasn't helping matters either, using her four arms to her advantage and messing with the peridots as they worked.

Onyx facepalmed. "I apologise for this," she told the rose quartz. "I'd like to say that they're usually better behaved, but that would be a lie."

"It's alright," the rose quartz laughed. "Really."

"If you say so," Onyx shrugged, turning back to watch her dancers, hoping upon hope that they didn't break anything. Unfortunately, as it transpired, something had already been broken; Zuli and Waltzer were holing the detached foot of a peridot between them whilst the peridot who had been stolen from hopped madly in place, shouting furiously.

"Zuli," Onyx sighed, "you and Waltzer better return that foot and get over here right now."

The two lapis giggled to themselves and returned the foot to the fuming technician who reattached it with much more aggression than was required.

"Yes, Onyx?" chirruped Zuli, coming to stand in front of the taller gem, acting for all the world as if she'd done nothing wrong. Waltzer just stood behind the lighter lapis, a sheepish grin on her face.

"You know full well what you've done," Onyx dead-panned, silently praying that the lapis wouldn't play up as they usually did.

"I'm sorry, Onyx," said Zuli, all innocence, "I don't know what you're talking about." Behind her Waltzer was trying not to laugh.

Onyx crossed her arms. "You stole a peridot's foot."

"I did that?" Zuli looked around at Waltzer, a look of disbelief on her face. "But I don't have it." She turned back to Onyx. "If I'd stolen a foot, wouldn't it be here with me?"

"Just go sit on the rows," Onyx instructed.

"But I'm innocent!" wailed Zuli, throwing herself at the taller gem, fake tears pooling in her beautiful eyes and threatening to fall. Waltzer lost it at this point, falling to the floor in a fit of giggles.

"Zuli, innocent is the last thing you are and you know it." Onyx set the smaller gem back on her feet. "Rows. Now. And you, Waltzer."

Zuli burst into tears and flung herself into the arms of the rose quartz by Onyx's side who scooped up the little dancer and held her whilst she sobbed over-dramatically. Waltzer, who _had_ been calming down, collapsed again, shrieking with laughter at the look of horror on Onyx's face as one of her dancers practically assaulted the higher ranking gem with her wailing.

"Zuli!" the darker gem shouted, blushing black in embarrassment. "You stop that right now! No more crocodile tears."

"Aww, but just look at her, Onyx." The rose quartz turned Zuli to face the darker gem. Zuli whimpered, stuck out her bottom lip and made it tremble as more tears flowed from her eyes. "She didn't mean it." Zuli nodded like a good little lapis.

Onyx sighed and was prepared to launch into the many reasons why the rose quartz shouldn't encourage the blue gem but was, thankfully, interrupted by a peridot; if she'd gone through with her lecture, she would have been in more trouble than Zuli. Rose quartz were rather rare and very valuable, meaning they were considered nobility. For a lowly onyx to tell a rose quartz what to do would be insane, even if the quartz in question seemed friendly.

"We're done here," stated the peridot, looking pleased with herself but dishevelled. "We've analysed the composition of the gems and put together a basic blueprint for future use." The green gem turned to Onyx who was amazed at the short amount of time the peridots had needed. "We may have need to return," she informed the darker gem. "Would you be of a position to allow that?"

"I believe so," agreed Onyx, "and I do apologise for the... enthusiasm of my lapis."

The peridot glared at the blue dancers. "Yes," she said. "Apology accepted, I suppose. I hope they're under better control next time, if there is one."

Onyx flushed black with embarrassment again.

"I shall try," she informed the technician honestly.

The peridot huffed in annoyance. "You better had," she muttered as she turned away to snatch her tools away from the excitable lapis.

This time it was the rose quartz's turn to be apologetic. "It's in their nature," she explained, shrugging. "We've tried to teach them not to talk down to those above them but they still do it."

"I understand," Onyx nodded. "I wonder what it is with small gems and defying authority?" here she glared pointedly at Zuli, still being cradled by the huge pink gem. Zuli, for her part, just stuck her tongue out and nuzzled closer in to the rose quartz.

The rose quartz laughed and looked down at the lapis in her arms. "Indeed," she said, smiling. "At least yours are creative about it, aren't you?" she asked Zuli, who nodded cutely. "Aww, look at the little darling," the quartz cooed.

"She's a menace," stated Onyx. "Alright get down from there now," she instructed. "And no more crocodile tears," she added when Zuli's eyes filled with moisture once again.

Zuli huffed but allowed the rose quartz to put her down again. She dropped a little curtsey in the pink gem's direction then stood up straight and polite. "Thank you, Rosie," she said, "for saving me from the wrath of Onyx." Then she scampered away to join her fellow dancers, Waltzer in tow, to bother the peridots again.

"Rosie?" the rose quartz questioned.

"Yes," sighed Onyx. "It's a nickname; a little thing we do here to tell everyone apart easily." She paused for a moment. "The fact that's she's given you one means she likes you."

"Hmm," said the rose quartz. "Rosie... I like it."

"Zuli, you let go of that peridot's leg right this instant!"

...

After the peridots had been rescued and sent on their way, Rosie informed Onyx that she would keep her up to date on any developments made on the turquoises and that, should the turquoises be a success, Onyx would have the pick of the bunch for her dance troupe. Onyx had spluttered in surprise but thanked the pink gem all the same and showed her out with a smile.

Turquoise had to be unfused again. The pearl had actually fallen over this time but it was quickly picked up and dusted off by the surrounding lapis. Sky giggled for a full six minutes before she was able to form coherent speech and Zuli and Waltzer were fairly punished for their crimes against the peridot that they had begun to refer to as 'Hopper'.

Zuli told everyone how nice the newly named 'Rosie' had been and how her embrace was 'so warm and comforting'. Onyx had rolled her eyes at the theatrics of the younger gem but complimented her on her acting skills nevertheless, saying that crying like that would help her in her current role. At this junction, many of the lapis begun to start referring to Zuli as 'Crocodile' and so another nickname was switched. Onyx was finding it difficult to keep up, two names having been changed only three rotations ago. Lapis could be so indecisive sometimes.

Dancing resumed as normal after everyone had calmed down despite the lapis protests that another day off was needed to recover again. Onyx denied their requests, saying it was punishment for bothering the worker-gems and that they'd better get to dancing right this second or else they'd be kept longer every rotation until they made up the time of the two they'd lost.

Sky was told to keep practising with the pearl with the aim of completing the sequence _without_ fusing whilst the rest of the lapis performed the pieces that Sky wasn't present for. There weren't many pieces of this nature; Sky was playing the lead, after all, but there were enough to see them through to the end of the session without getting bored. When Onyx finally allowed them to depart, the larger group had mastered two of the dances in their entirety and Sky and the pearl and managed to stop fusing for the duration of their set. Yes, their gems still glowed but that could be worked on or, if push came to shove, attributed to a special effect.

When the gaggle of lapis had left and the orchestra of spectrolite had packed up their instruments and departed as well, Onyx locked up the hall and took the pearl back to it's owner; another, more successful onyx than herself who had the pleasure of owning two pearls, both gifts, neither of which she knew what to do with. In fact, she kept insisting that Onyx take a pearl off her hands but Onyx kept refusing; she also had no idea what to do with a pearl.

The next rotation came around quickly and the rehearsal passed without a hitch; Sky and the pearl had even managed to prevent their gems from glowing. Onyx considered this a success and reintegrated Sky back into the rest of the dancing and instructed them on their movements whist simultaneously conducting the orchestra. Honestly, Onyx had no idea how she managed most rotations.

A further ten rotations, during which the peridots had been back twice unsupervised by the pink gem, passed before Onyx heard back from Rosie who breezed into the studio whilst Onyx was conducting a particularly tricky piece and shouting to Waltzer, telling her to leap with more feeling. Once the piece was over, Onyx declared a break, more for herself than anything else, and made her way over to the quartz who had taken a seat and patiently waited for the dance to end.

"I have news on the turquoise," she said when Onyx had settled herself down. "I took the idea to the Diamonds and they approved it!"

Onyx was surprised. "Even Yellow Diamond?" she asked incredulously.

Rosie nodded. "Yes, she took some convincing but I managed it; I said that, even though we may design it be a dancer there is no guarantee that it will actually turn out to be one. She might just get another fighter out of it."

Onyx snorted. "I doubt it."

"As do I, but we won't know until we try."

"I suppose, what did the other Diamonds have to say?" the darker gem enquired, interest piqued. She knew she shouldn't really be asking but she wanted to know regardless.

"Blue Diamond was ecstatic at the prospect of another performance gem." Rosie smiled. "She agreed before I even finished my pitch; heard the word 'dancer' and accepted, just like that." She snapped her fingers for emphasis.

"Unsurprising," Onyx said; Blue Diamond was known to be very fond of art in all forms be it in music, dance or paintings. The thought of another type of dancer was sure to thrill her.

"Pink Diamond, as we all knew she would, agreed to it was well; told me that all forms of life should be given a chance and that the project could go ahead. White Diamond agreed last, mainly, I think, because she wants to see Yellow Diamond disappointed when she doesn't get another warrior out of it although you mustn't tell anyone I told you that," Rosie finished in a whisper.

"Of course not," agreed Onyx. "So production has started?"

"Not quite yet; we're currently in the testing stages," said Rosie. "We've sourced a suitable planet for the kindergarten and it's being set up as we speak but the peridots are growing miniatures for the moment. I'll bring one down to show you when it's finished."

"Oh, that's probably not a good idea," said Onyx hurriedly. "They'd either break it or beg to keep it," she elaborated, jerking a thumb over to the lapis who were attempting to engage the pearl in conversation.

"Outside of the hall, then," the rose quartz decided. "I'll swing by your... apartment is it?" Onyx nodded. "Yes, I'll bring it round so you can see it."

Onyx agreed and gave Rosie her address. The quartz left not long afterwards, freeing the darker gem up to gather the lapis once again and resume practising.

By the end of the session, another three routines had been perfected.

...

It was late when Rosie showed up at Onyx's apartment nearly thirty rotations later. She looked as calm and collected as ever but the shorter gem could tell she was excited and with good reason to be, as it turned out; the miniature was a success.

The tiny turquoise was beautiful with brilliant blue skin and hair a few shades darker. She had two arms which Onyx was very pleased about and the grace and elegance that was required for what her larger counterparts would go on to do. They made her dance for a time, Onyx playing a little tune on the violin to accompany the routine. Her movements were like liquid, beautiful and flowing and full of passion and, though she was a little wobbly in places, both Rosie and Onyx agreed that she would be an excellent dancer if properly trained.

"It seems a shame to shatter her after this," Rosie had remarked when she and Onyx were busy examining the turquoise's gemstone later in the rotation.

Onyx looked up at this. "Shatter her?" she enquired. "Whatever for?"

"Well, she's highly underdeveloped," explained the pink gem, putting down the magnifying lens she had been using and leaning back in her seat. "She is unable to speak or think freely for long periods of time and her stamina is so low that it's barely worth mentioning."

Indeed, the little gem had collapsed after only a few minutes of dancing and just lay there. There were no signs of intelligence or free thinking.

"I suppose it's for the best," agreed Onyx eventually. "It would be cruel to keep it alive."

"Yes, we'll run some more tests on it over the next few days and then we'll break it," Rosie informed the younger gem. "I've already taken her to the Diamonds for approval and they were all satisfied, even Yellow Diamond. Production has officially started." She then produced a chemical mix from the same bag that she had stored the turquoise in. "I believe a celebration is in order."

They drank and laughed into the night, only stopping because Onyx had rehearsals to attend later but with the promise that they would do this again some time.

As it turned out, working with lapis was very difficult and unpleasant when one was hungover and Onyx vowed to never again to drink before practise.

...

The rotations went by, Onyx and Rosie meeting up every so often to discuss the turquoises or just to drink together.

"Is this always how new gems are made?" Onyx had asked during one such meeting, having been curious about the process for some time. "I mean to say, you told me that cross-gem fusion was illegal. Surely, if this is how new gems are first made, it wouldn't be so frowned upon."

Rosie had laughed. "Funny you should say that actually; _most_ new gems are formed this way. I'm not entirely sure why fusion of this sort is considered to be so terrible."

"Then how were other gems formed?"

Rosie shrugged. "I'm not sure," she answered honestly. "I've never really given it much thought."

They formed a close friendship, one that saw the dark gem much success as others learned that a rose quartz liked the conductor and director of a _lapis_ _troupe,_ of all things, and flocked to see if it was as good as the rose quartz seemed to think it was. They were not disappointed.

It wasn't until Homeworld had completed a full orbit that the first turquoises were pulled from the ground. Unfortunately, very few were what they hoped for.

"Absolutely riddled with impurities!" Rosie had lamented. "Defects, the lot of them, the peridots decided. Smashed them all without a second thought!" She had taken a deep drink form her glass at this point. "Oh, but you should have seen how pretty they were. Yes, they were impure but it just made them look so much better!"

The next batch to emerge were much the same and were shattered as well. It was frustrating for all involved.

"I just don't understand what's going wrong!" Rosie had admitted after the destruction of the sixth batch of turquoise that were deemed unsatisfactory half and orbit later. "We've tried so many things but they all come out with impurities."

"No defects any more?" Onyx had asked, gently sipping her third glass of chemical mix. Rosie was on her fifth.

"No, we're past that stage," the pink gem had answered. "It's just the impurities."

"Well, jaspers manage to work well enough with impurities," Onyx had pointed out. "So do lapis, when we allow for it."

"Yes, but the turquoises are going to _perform_ ," Rosie had emphasised. "They need to be flawless; other gems won't want to pay to see an impure one dance, will they?"

"Well, they paid to see the lapis for years before we figured out how to get _them_ perfect."

Rosie had paused here, apparently deep in thought. "You know, I suppose you're right," she had said at last. "I'll bring you with me when we get a new batch. If you like them, you can keep them."

And so it was that Onyx found herself off planet forty rotations later, standing in the middle of a kindergarten with a line of turquoise stood before her.

"You were right," she said to Rosie. "They _are_ pretty."

They really were but, also just as the larger gem had informed Onyx, they all suffered from some sort of impurity; some had large dark slashes of black or brown running through them. Others had smaller lines of impurities that could possibly be hidden but they were still noticeable. Some had patches, some had spots, some changed colour from blue to green, some _were_ green. Onyx's favourite were the turquoise that bore patterns of impurity like spider-webs.

The turquoises came in different sizes, too; some tall, others short. Most were thin and lithe but some were more muscled, built like a jasper only on a smaller scale that still managed to look good. Onyx was awed that so many beautiful gems were being shattered.

After examining most of the line from every angle, annoying the peridot on duty a she did so, Onyx selected a few to test their skills.

Their dancing wan't perfect by any means but they had potential and Onyx hated to see it go to waste.

"I'd like to take a few back with me," she had told Rosie, "to see how they dance with the lapis."

Rosie had, of course, agreed to Onyx's request and, together, they picked out twenty, taking a selection of patterns and colour. The others were not sent to be crushed but were put into storage which involved destroying their physical forms and storing them in specially made boxes designed to keep a gem from regenerating. Onyx wasn't sure how they worked.

They had been offered the same boxes for the turquoises they were taking back with them but they declined, wanting to observe the turquoises more on the flight back to Homeworld.

...

Onyx had never seen her lapis more excited than when she introduced them to the turquoises who gazed at the dance hall in awe and wonder, having heard about it form Onyx on the ship. Crocodile, whom Onyx still sometimes called Zuli, took charge and paired off the turquoise with a lapis that had the same gem placement.

"It looks more professional," she had told Rosie upon being asked why she was doing that. "Just as when high quality pearls are made with the same gem placement as their owners."

Crocodile took for herself one of the lighter turquoise with a dark slash of impurity across her neck. The gems on the backs of their left hands shone as they looped their way around the room. Crocodile was leading the dance which made it look a little awkward as the turquoise was the taller of the two but they switched places once the newer had gotten the hang of things. That was the moment when Onyx realised for certain that she had made the right decision; they just looked so beautiful together.

After the session, when the rest of the turquoise had been spun around and taught a few more basic steps, Onyx had dismissed the group. She was about to organise living quarters for the turquoise but it appeared that the lapis had beaten her to it; they had decided amongst themselves that, if they had been given a dance partner, they would take it home with them. Onyx had been hesitant at first as lapis lazuli were not usually able to afford very large apartments or houses but she had eventually been persuaded by Sky.

Sky had actually managed to do quite well for herself over the time the turquoises were being produced and, though she didn't currently have a turquoise dance partner, Onyx silently promised herself that she would find the perfect match for her best performer.

Once the living arrangements had been made and instructions given out to the dancers, both old and new, Onyx and Rosie had made their way back to Onyx's apartment to celebrate their success. It was agreed that Rosie would take the turquoises, all of them, to see the Diamonds the next day if the Diamonds had the time to entertain her.

The two gems had made their way through three full bottles of chemicals before Onyx remembered she had to work soon and that it was not a good plan to show up to rehearsal still slightly tipsy.

...

When the next rotation finally came around, Rosie organised a meeting with the Diamonds for later on the same day. She was pleased that they were able to see her at such short notice but that soon gave way to nervousness as she worried whether they should have taught the turquoises more dances before arranging the meeting. Onyx spent the better part of an hour reassuring the older gem that they would be fine and that the diamonds would understand that even gems made to dance needed at least a little more practice.

The rehearsal session went off without much of a hitch, Onyx now splitting her time between the lapis, who were in the final preparation stages for their newest performance, and the turquoise who needed to be taught more of the basics about dancing with each other.

To the conductor's great surprise, everyone had managed to stay in one piece over the course of the night and had actually managed to get some rest. The lapis had enjoyed the company of the turquoise and vice versa and Onyx wondered whether she would be able to arrange it so that the lapis and turquoise would be able to live together permanently. But she didn't have time to think; there was a dance troupe that needed to get started, an orchestra that needed conducting _and_ a group of turquoise to instruct.

Onyx had picked the worst day possible to work whilst still slightly under the influence which had dulled over the course of the rotation to form a small but persistent headache but she made do. By the time Onyx called the session to an end so that she could take the turquoise to meet with the Diamonds, her headache was almost gone, the lapis had managed an entire dress rehearsal without a hitch, the technical side of the performance had been touched up, the orchestra was flawless as usual and the turquoise were dancing beautifully. Onyx felt she'd done a grand job.

It had been with great pride that the dark gem had arranged the turquoise and transported them to the court of the Diamonds alongside Rosie. She had had to keep them covered, of course, save other gems stopping and staring and wondering but it would all be worth it.

When they reached the outside of the room in which the Diamonds waited, Onyx removed the heavy hoods from the turquoises and folded them neatly. Rosie had then marched the line into the court room, head held high. The conductor had sat herself down on a chair to wait for Rosie and the turquoises to reappear but she had only been seated for a few minutes when Rosie had come out again.

"The Diamonds wish to speak to you," she had informed Onyx.

"Me?!" Onyx had squeaked.

"Yes, you."

Onyx made another small noise of distress before standing up and brushing herself off to make herself look as presentable as possible and following her friend into the presence of the four gem matriarchs. She had never been so terrified.

...

Four hours later found Rosie and Onyx back at Onyx's apartment again after having delivered the turquoises back to their respective lapis and acquiring more chemicals for the evening. The meeting with Diamonds had been a resounding success; they had agreed to allow turquoises to dance with the lapis and had remarked upon how delightful it was that they were all unique.

Onyx had been asked her opinion on the new gems and had somehow managed to stutter out an honest opinion without much fuss. Yellow Diamond had been terrifying, questioning Onyx at every point she could, asking whether or not their full abilities had been discovered or not and if she thought they would be much use in battle or as scouts. Onyx had tried to answer truthfully but, having very little knowledge of what was sought after in scouting gems, had made up something delightfully neutral for that question.

White Diamond also sent a twinge of fear through the dark gem, not because she questioned Onyx but more because she sat in silence, quietly observing the proceedings and giving nothing away as to how she felt on the subject until she had finally cracked a wide smile at the end of the meeting, congratulating Onyx on the work she had managed to do with the turquoise in such a short amount of time. Upon hearing that, Onyx had let out a long breath that she had been unaware she was holding. She supposed this was partly due to the fact that White Diamond was also the leader of the Diamond Authority; her word was practically law unless the other three Diamonds opposed her.

The kindest of the Diamonds, Onyx felt, was Pink Diamond who had smiled reassuringly at the conductor as she walked into the room with Rosie. She, like White Diamond, had sat in silence for most of the meeting but she spoke up occasionally to ask a question, compliment the dancers or to tell Yellow Diamond to back off. She had descried the turquoises as a 'breath of fresh air' and requested that, when Onyx decided to put on a show with them, that she use one of the classic lapis pieces but with some of the parts played by turquoise 'just to see how it turns out'.

Out of all four Diamonds, though, the most enthusiastic had definitely been Blue Diamond who completely fell in love with the turquoises and their dancing, as simple as it was. She had agreed with Pink Diamond that it would be marvellous to see an all lapis piece with turquoise cast for some roles but had also requested that new performances be written with turquoises in mind. She hadn't stopped smiling through the whole meeting and had even had her pearl dance with the turquoise.

Despite how pleasant the meeting had been overall, Onyx was glad that it was over. The turquoises that had been put in storage were brought out and shipped back to Homeworld where Onyx picked out the ones which she felt would fit best with the troupe, making sure to pick a beautiful black-spider-web patterned one for Sky to dance with.

It was decided that the turquoise would be kept a secret for a while, just so that their first performance would be that much more of a surprise. This meant that each turquoise was given a veil to wear outside of the dance studio and the apartments they shared with their lapis. Thankfully, even though this originally attracted more attention than was preferable, it did build up suspense for the time when the turquoises would be revealed.

...

It had nearly been another full orbit since Onyx had taken the turquoises to be viewed by the diamonds before they were due to make their grand debut in the world of dance and much had been discovered during that time. Turquoises, it turned out, had many talents; there was, of course their grace and elegance in dance and beautiful singing voices to accompany their flawless acting, much like the lapis, but there were also some rarer abilities, discovered mostly by accident.

Spider-web turquoise were found to have healing saliva, oddly enough. It was by no means as pleasant sounding as the healing tears that were shed by rose quartz but that changed once gems realised that turquoises could actually kiss them better. Spider-web turquoise were rare, though, and Onyx had the best in her dance troupe and wasn't letting her go for anything. The ability of Spider, imaginatively nicknamed by Waltzer, was found when Sky took a particularly nasty tumble during rehearsal, landing at just the wrong angle and cracking her gem. There had been mass panic, Onyx attempting to restore order and shouting for someone to fetch Rosie because, diamonds, that split was huge. Spider had rushed to her partner's side and sobbed into the lapis' chest whilst Sky slowly lost control of her physical form. No one was quite sure what had happened when, suddenly, Sky was coming back to normal but it was later admitted by Spider that she had kissed the cracked gemstone and it had just started to heal. So she kept kissing it. Rumours and teasing of the pair being romantically involved spread like wildfire after that but nothing was ever proven.

Some turquoise were able to zone in on metal objects and locate them with ease. Peridots attributed this to some turquoise having magnetic impurities in their gem and dismissed it as useless. Others were so light on their feet that nothing could hear them coming, not even sapphires who were said to be the most sensitive of all gems. These turquoise, few though they were, were employed as spies or, in special cases, assassins. This was highly illegal, of course, but that didn't stop it.

Yellow Diamond's favourite ability was that of turquoises who were a touch more impure than their fellow gems; they were almost impossible to destroy the physical forms of. Yes, the actual gemstones shattered easily when struck but their projected bodies could take more than ten times the damage that would usually force a jasper or an amethyst to retreat for regeneration. These turquoises were arranged into a wing of the military and became the second most favoured fighters of Yellow Diamond, beaten to the top spot only by jaspers.

A talent that surprised Onyx when it really shouldn't have was the turquoise's ability to master instruments very quickly. This one was found when the orchestra took a break and the turquoise and lapis had all swarmed their instruments and begun to experiment. When the owners of said instruments returned, they were shocked to find that both the lapis and the turquoise _weren't_ terrible.

Of course, none of these abilities were made public until after the turquoise's first show had completed it's time in the dance halls, tickets selling out almost as soon as they'd gone on sale and impressing all who had taken the time to see it.

Onyx was highly praised for her work and soon many other lapis troupes had taken to working with the new blue gems. None were as successful as the original, though, and, to this day, Onyx's dance troupe is the most popular on Homeworld having produced many outstanding solo performers, lapis and turquoise alike.

Sky, the lapis who was considered to have been the catalyst for all of this, was highly praised by those who knew she was the one who started it all and celebrated by those who didn't because she and Spider quickly became the best dancers the troupe had ever seen. Unlike other lapis and turquoise, though, they elected to remain in the troupe where they could have gone on to be soloists or a duet. They still dance, even now, thousands of years on.


End file.
